Every other Christmas card seems to feature a robin. Occasionally it’s a pair of robins – even though, as most people know, this species is notoriously territorial.
By nature, robins are woodland birds. They evolved to follow wild boars around forests, to feed on the worms and other invertebrates brought up to the surface when the animals dug for food. But, until recently, wild boars had been absent from Britain for many centuries, so robins found a suitable substitute: us. Our gardens – and our national obsession with gardening – provide everything a robin needs: plenty of food, shelter and a place to breed.
As a result, the robin turned from a shy, woodland bird into one that happily lives alongside us, perching on a spade or coming to our…
